


Serendipitous Snowstorm

by silenceisscreaming



Category: Life with Derek
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Huddling For Warmth, Mostly Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-29 02:22:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18298337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silenceisscreaming/pseuds/silenceisscreaming
Summary: On their way home from Queens, our favourite step-siblings are delayed by a snowstorm. Cliches ensue.





	Serendipitous Snowstorm

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Not my characters. Just playing with them.
> 
> All mistakes are my own.

"Are you sure you're okay to drive in this?" Casey asked as she loaded her small suitcase into the trunk of the Prince. She and Derek were headed home for Christmas break after their first semester of university. 

"Casey, this is Canada. Of course I'm fine to drive in this," Derek replied as he ducked into the driver's seat. Casey got in on the other side and did up her seatbelt. 

"It's been snowing all day and it's not supposed to stop. The roads will be awful," she warned. 

"Yes Princess, I'll be careful." 

Derek hit the aux button on the dashboard and Casey plugged in her phone. She selected the playlist labeled Homeward Bound and hit shuffle. She and Derek realized after their first trip home that they needed an agreed upon playlist or they would do nothing but fight about the music the whole way there. They had taken an afternoon to create the playlist, each suggesting songs and the other agreeing or disagreeing until their list was long enough to get them home. 

For the next three hours or so they sang along to the music and munched on the snacks they'd brought (chips for Derek, carrots and pea pods for Casey). At this point, the snow was becoming a hindrance. Derek's visibility had decreased drastically and he was forced to slow down. 

Casey looked over when Derek abruptly stopped singing and the car slowed. 

"Are we okay?" she asked nervously. 

"Yeah, this is getting bad though," Derek answered. Casey was surprised he hadn't given her some jibe about not trusting his driving. He must be worried too.

Ten minutes later the Prince was inching along. The wind had picked up and was causing the car to swerve severely. Twice they'd slid alarmingly close to the lane beside them due to invisible ice and Derek could only see a few meters in front of the car. 

"Maybe we should stop for a while," Casey suggested. Derek glanced over at her and noticed she was sitting straight up and alert, clearly trying to be prepared for anything. It was her fear that finally got him to pull off onto the next side road and into the shallow ditch. He turned the car off. As cold as it was outside, they didn't have enough gas to waste it on the heater. 

"What now?" Derek said as Casey relaxed into her seat. "Wait until it stops?" 

"Until it slows down at least," Casey replied watching the snow already starting to pile up on the windshield. 

"So ..." Derek said a few minutes of silence later. "How's, you know, life?" 

Casey looked at him in amusement. "Since when do you actually care?" 

"Trust me, I don't," Derek said. "But seeing as we're stuck here for a while we may as well talk about something. So come on. One time offer to tell me everything that's going on." 

Casey looked suspicious but then relented. "Well, my roommate isn't coming back next semester." 

"Mandy? How come?" 

"You only care because you think she's attractive and you want to get in her pants," Casey said bitterly. 

"That may or may not be true but I'm seriously asking. Come on," Derek replied impatiently. 

"She can't afford tuition. Her dad died when she was little and her mom died just a year ago. She has no one to help her and her part time job doesn't cover it. She says she'll come back once she has the money," Casey explained. 

"No scholarship for her then?" Derek asked. Casey shook her head. Both Casey and Derek had been very lucky to receive full scholarships; Casey's academic and Derek's athletic. Their parents would surely have helped out but they had a lot of siblings who would need their help in the future. 

"Are you getting a new roommate then? Or do you get the room to yourself?" 

Casey scoffed. "It's a double room. They'd never let me have it to myself. I'm sure there will be someone new by the time we get back." 

"Are you still hanging out with that chick Madison?" 

"It's Madeline," Casey glared. 

"Whatever. You guys still friends?" Derek said nonchalantly. 

"Yes, actually. We're pretty close. Not Emily close but still." Casey's voice turned sad. 

"I'm sorry about that by the way," Derek said gently. 

Casey shook her head. "It wasn't your fault. Besides, we're still talking. We'll get back to normal eventually." 

Derek searched her face but found nothing to contradict her statement. He still felt guilty. He'd broken up with Emily two weeks into the summer and that, doubled with the short fling he'd had with Roxy, had left things kind of icy between Casey and Emily. Emily seemed to think Casey had something to do with the break up. 

"I'm shocked," Derek said. Casey looked at him expectantly. "I tell you I'm sorry for something and you just let that go? No 'wow Derek I can't believe you finally apologized for something' or 'you've never been sorry in your life, why start now?' What's wrong with you?" 

Casey rolled her eyes. "Don't exaggerate. You've apologized before. Not always with words but you always do." 

"I do not!" Derek argued. "Name one time!" 

"I'll name three," Casey smirked. "The whole Dance Mania thing where you agreed to be my partner after sabotaging everything. The time you changed my poem in the school paper but then published the real one. And sometimes you apologize for other people! Like calling my dad back after he ditched out early. Admit it Der, you’re a softy.”

“Woah, woah, woah, absolutely not,” Derek defended. “Two of those were after being hugely guilt tripped by the fam. And I never admitted to calling your dad back. You can’t prove that one.”

“Derek,” Casey scoffed. “My dad sold you out. You can’t deny the witness testimony.”

Derek grimaced. He’d told Dennis not to tell Casey. He had a reputation to uphold after all.

“Alright, fine,” he relented. “I was nice one time. Doesn’t make it a character trait.”

“Truman,” Casey said simply. 

“What? What about him?”

“He’s proof that you actually care. I heard what you said to him at the party. About how no one should treat me that way. That was really chivalrous of you.”

“He made you cry,” Derek mumbled.

“And that’s your job right?”

“No, no one should make you cry,” Derek negated. “Not even me.”

“That’s surprisingly sweet, Der. I didn’t know you had it in you,” Casey said with a soft smirk.

“Yeah well, don’t go telling anyone. Can’t have people taking advantage.”

“Why are you so concerned with what people think of you?” 

“What, like you aren’t? Shall I remind you of your cheerleader phase?” Derek raised his eyebrows at her.

“I’m a perfectionist. If someone doesn’t like me for whatever reason, I try to fix it. It’s just part of who I am. But I don’t get why you care so much,” Casey defended.

“To be honest, I didn’t really care as much before you moved in. Sure, I cared a little. Which probably stemmed from feeling abandoned by my mom but it escalated when you showed up.”

“Why’s that?”

“Competition. You were so high and mighty all the time and you were smarter than me so I had to beat you somehow. Reputation was just the easiest way to do that,” Derek said shifting in his seat.

“I’m not sure I buy that,” Casey replied. Derek shrugged.

“It’s the only explanation I have.”

Casey shifted next to him, wrapping her arms around herself. Derek suddenly noticed that the temperature was beginning to drop. The Prince’s heater was fine but the car was drafty and didn’t retain its heat. 

Derek undid his seatbelt. “Come on, come to the back seat.”

“What? Why?” Casey asked, looking alarmed. Derek rolled his eyes. 

“Just do it.”

He climbed over the center console as gracefully as he could in the small space, almost accidentally (but kind of on purpose) hitting Casey in the face with an elbow. Casey followed him once he’d settled and when she was out of the way Derek manoeuvered himself so he could pull down one of the back seats to access the trunk. He reached in and grabbed a duffle bag and pulled it through.

“What’s that?” Casey asked.

“An emergency bag, obviously,” Derek stated as if she was an idiot. “You’re always going on about being prepared and we live in Canada. It’s probably smart to have some stuff in case we, oh I don’t know, get stuck in a blizzard.”

He opened the bag and pulled out a quilt. It was a zigzag pattern in red and blue.

“Aunt Madge made this for me a couple years ago. Never thought I’d use it,” Derek said as he put the bag to the side and shifted closer to Casey. The quilt wasn’t overly big, the size of a twin blanket maybe, which forced Casey and Derek to be touching all along their sides. It took several minutes before either of them relaxed.

“This is better. Thanks Der,” Casey said pulling the quilt more tightly around her.

“So what else is new?” Derek asked. “Got your sights set on any boys these days?”

Casey scoffed. “I haven’t got time right now. If I want to be the top of my class I have to work for it.”

“Oh, come on,” Derek teased. “There has to be someone.”

“Well, I mean, there’s Tim but that’s it.”

“Tell me about Tim.”

“I met him in my English class and he’s taken to following me around like a puppy. I’ve made it clear I’m not interested but he seems to think if he just waits me out I’ll cave.”

“Hmm, I’ve never understood guys like that,” Derek said thoughtfully. “Why would you chase someone who’s not interested when chances are there’s a perfectly willing girl around the corner?”

“That would imply you don’t care which girl you’re with. Her personality doesn’t matter as long as she’s willing,” Casey replied.

“Exactly,” Derek said cheerfully. “Besides, I get enough personality from you.”

Casey narrowed her eyes. “Thanks?”

Derek laughed. “Take that however you want.”

“I’m going to choose to take it as a compliment.”

“Okay,” Derek indulged her.

“Any girls you see lasting more than one night?” Case asked. Derek glanced at her. She raised her eyebrow expectantly.

“Nice to see you have such a high opinion of me,” he replied sarcastically.

“You don’t exactly negate the rumours.”

“True but that’s all they are. And it’s just for my rep. I figured you knew me better than that.”

“Hold the presses. Is Derek Venturi admitting to not being a heartless womanizer? Does he actually have a heart? Tune in at eleven to hear the full story,” Casey joked.

“Ha ha,” Derek deadpanned. “Weren’t you just pointing out what a great guy I am? So I actually see merit in a committed relationship. Not really news after Sally.”

“Yeah, that one kind of surprised everyone.”

“All of it? Or just the almost quitting school and moving across the country for her?” Derek clarified.

“All of it, I think. It was obvious you loved her.”

Derek hummed softly. “Was it? Because I’m actually not convinced I loved her.”

“What do you mean? You wrote a song for her, helped plan Marti’s birthday. You even let her cry in front of you!” Casey pointed out.

“I’m not saying I didn’t care about her. I did. A lot. But love is a big word for a big feeling.”

“Have you ever been in love, then?” Casey questioned. Derek turned slightly to look at her.

“Once.”

The softness of his voice startled her and she turned to meet his gaze. She swallowed as she realized just how close their faces were. 

“Who was she?” she whispered, her voice catching in her throat.

Derek just stared at her for moment before pressing forward and closing the small space between them.

Casey gasped as his mouth met hers, her hand automatically reaching up to grasp at his jacket. His arm slid around her back and pulled her closer as he kissed her. Casey opened her mouth to catch her breath and Derek used the opportunity to slip his tongue past her lips. He kept it brief though. A couple moments later he pulled back a few inches but he didn’t let her move away.

“Does that answer your question?” he said softly.

Casey’s eyes grew wide as the implication hit her. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

Derek laughed, “I’ve finally found a way to shut you up!”

“You love me?” she eventually spit out.

Derek sighed. “You don’t need to sound like it’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you.”

“Sorry, it’s just the last thing I would ever have expected you to say.”

“Technically, I didn’t say anything,” he said smugly. Casey rolled her eyes.

“You implied it,” she answered impatiently. 

“I’d like to point out that I haven’t gotten a proper response. How do you feel about me?”

Casey chewed on her lower lip as she thought about how to phrase what she was feeling. 

“I can’t deny I’ve thought about what it would be like. I think my mind subconsciously locked it all in a box labelled family so I could live with it. But I can definitely say I don’t hate you.”

“That’s not really inspiring a lot of confidence, Case,” Derek said with a grimace. He went to pull his arm back from around her but she stopped him. She reached up and pulled his face back to hers, allowing their lips to touch again.

“Why am I different from Sally?” she asked softly when they separated. Derek took a moment to think about it.

“I think because you accept me for who I am but at the same time you challenge me to be better. But you also don’t force me too. You understand me better than anyone and you always see the best in me. And for some crazy reason, you continue to fight with me.”

Casey smiled and leaned in to kiss him again. She had a look of confusion on her face when she pulled back.

“You hated me so much,” she accused. 

Derek reached up with his chilly fingers and stroked his thumb over her cheek. “Case, I fell in love with you the moment you walked up to Ralph.”

Casey smiled softly, remembering Derek’s trick their first time meeting. “But you made that comment about step-siblings when he said he was thinking of asking me out. From the sound of it, you were disgusted by it.”

“That comment was more of a societal approach than my own personal opinion. Besides, we wouldn’t have worked back then.”

“No? How come?”

“You still had a retainer for starters,” Derek said with a smirk. Casey rolled her eyes. “And it took a few years for us to influence each other enough. You’re a little less uptight and I’m a bit more responsible.”

“I suppose that’s true. So you think we’re ready now?”

“Yeah I do. Do you?”

“Yeah,” Casey whispered and leaned in to kiss Derek again. A few minutes later, Casey pulled back and snuggled into Derek’s side. Derek squeezed her closer and rested his head on hers.

They dozed lightly until Casey heard her phone go off. She pulled away from Derek and reached to the front to grab it.

“It’s Mom. She wants to make sure we’re safe,” Casey explained while typing out a reply telling Nora they were okay and had stopped until the snow slowed down. Casey’s movements had pulled her out from under the quilt and she was surprised at the drastic temperature drop. She checked her phone’s weather app.

“Derek, it’s gotten colder. Minus 23 now with a wind chill.”

“Where the hell did this storm come from? December usually doesn’t get bad like this,” Derek grumbled.

“Just our luck I guess,” Casey said as she moved back under the quilt. Derek whined.

“You let all the cold in.”

“Sorry,” Casey said as she wrapped the quilt tightly around them both. “It would actually be better if we were wearing less layers so we could share body heat.”

“Body heat, huh?” Derek said and Casey looked up to find him smirking suggestively.

“Der-ek! I didn’t mean like that. Just down to our t-shirts or something,” Casey said, exasperated. 

“Or something,” Derek chuckled but he wiggled around until he could get his jacket and hoodie off. He draped them both over their legs as another blanket. Casey followed suit and when she was down to her thin t-shirt Derek wrapped his arms around her.

“Ooh, you’re so warm,” Casey said burrowing into his chest. Derek smiled.

“Glad I can be of service.”

“What’s our plan? What if the snow doesn’t let up? We’ll freeze out here. Do you think we should run for it?” Casey wondered.

“No, the snow was so bad and I was going so slow I don’t even know where we are. Normally I’d be able to say depending on how long we’d been driving but not with how slow I had to go. We could be only an hour outside of Queens. Who knows how far we are from anything. I haven’t even seen any other cars for a while. Although we’re getting buried so that doesn’t help.

“Getting buried will actually help with the cold a bit. Insulation.”

Derek scoffed. “Not nearly enough. All we can really do is wait. If it gets really bad I’ll start the car and use the heater. I’ll have to do that once in a while anyway actually. To keep the battery going.”

“You know what? We may be stuck here in the cold for who knows how long but there’s no one I’d rather be stuck with,” Casey said tilting her head up toward Derek. He leaned down and kissed her.

The kiss quickly grew heated and Casey whined gently when Derek slipped his hands under her t-shirt. He moved away from her lips and down to her neck, teasing at the sensitive skin below her ear. 

“You know,” Derek said as he left kisses up and down her throat. “We could heat up the car another way.”

“What happened to not being a womanizer?” Casey teased.

“I’ve never been stuck in a car, in a blizzard, with the woman I love, trying to keep warm,” Derek said as he slid his hand down Casey’s back.

“It does sound like something out of a movie. Oh hey, you actually said it that time,” Casey observed.

“Yeah, I guess I did. I love you, Case. Don’t –“ he interrupted as Casey opened her mouth. “Don’t say anything. I don’t want you to say anything you don’t mean.”

Casey nodded. “So you’ve never been in love before but you have done it right?”

Derek raised his eyebrows. “Done what exactly?”

Casey blushed. “You know what.”

“You’re so innocent,” he chuckled.

“I’m surprised you didn’t call me a prude,” Casey said shyly.

“Prude has a negative connotation. You shouldn’t feel self-conscious about not having experience. Everyone is comfortable with it at different times and with different people. And I, for one, am glad you’ve never done it,” Derek said resting his forehead against hers.

“I almost did. With Truman.”

Derek grimaced. “What stopped you?”

“He was being really pushy about it. He assumed I’d done it before. I told him I hadn’t and he switched tactics. He kept telling me how good it would be and trying to talk me into it. It’s actually why we broke up the second time.”

Derek couldn’t resist. He leaned in and kissed her deeply.

“Just so you know, as much as I joke about it, I will never try and pressure you into it.”

“Thank you,” Casey replied. “So are you going to answer my question?”

“Right. Uh – yeah, I’ve done it. With Sally. Only a couple times, right before she left. I actually kind of regret it because it made everything harder. I almost did it with Roxy too but her dad came home. Definitely for the best. I’ll probably never see her again. What are you smiling about?”

Casey’s grin widened. “You’re turning out to be the man I always knew you could be.”

“You always did have more faith in me than my behaviour really warranted.”

“No, I just know you better than anyone.”

“That’s probably true. How did that happen?”

Casey lifted her hand and ran her fingers through Derek’s hair. “I don’t know how to stay out of other people’s business and you were only a wall away for three years.”

“That will do it.”

They shut up for a while then, preferring instead to explore new territory. Eventually they found themselves lying across the back seat, Derek wrapped tightly around Casey.

“I should start the car,” Derek said, running his nose lightly down Casey’s jaw. Casey hummed but didn’t move. Derek sighed and unwrapped himself from her body, trying valiantly to resist her soft whine. He pulled on his jacket, which had been underneath them so the jacket stayed warm, and climbed into the front. He turned the key and after some coaxing, the car sprang to life. Derek left the heater on low until the air warmed up but he turned the windshield wipers on. They struggled but eventually cleared the built up snow.

Derek peered out into the storm. The clouds made it look much later than it was. It was only about two in the afternoon but it looked like five in the evening. The snow seemed to have slowed and visibility had improved a bit.

“Hey Case, storm has died down a bit. I say we give it another half hour and then head out.”

“Sounds good. Are you coming back here? You left all the cold behind,” she said reaching her arm out from under the quilt. Derek grabbed her hand and kissed it but stayed where he was.

“Once the car heats up a bit I’ll have to turn it off again,” he explained. He kept hold of Casey’s hand, rubbing his thumb over the back of it. When he finally deemed the car warm enough he shut it off and crawled back under the quilt. Casey turned and wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly.

‘Your new nickname is Octopus,” he said affectionately.

“Better than Klutzilla,” she breathed into his neck. Derek pressed a kiss into her hair and squeezed her tighter. It was quiet for several minutes before Casey spoke up again.

“Do you remember prom junior year?” she asked.

“I vaguely remember your giant freak out about prom junior year. Why?” Derek said fondly.

“Do you remember coming into my room with the dress from the drama department and saying that you were there to take me to prom?” 

Derek grimaced. “Did I really say that? Wow, I was so whipped even back then.”

“And that was before you dated Sally,” Casey laughed. “There were a lot of little moments that, looking back on it now, make it kind of obvious.”

“Oh yeah?” Derek said. “Like what?”

“Like telling Marti you would miss me when you were in Spain. Or when I stuck up for you against the Fridge – “ 

“That was surprisingly attractive by the way,” Derek interrupted. “And Marti doesn’t know how to keep a secret apparently.”

“No, she doesn’t. There’s also the fact that we planned each other’s birthdays. And you snuck into the hospital to see me. Or when you ratted out Scott for cheating on me.”

“You have terrible taste in guys. Current company excluded of course,” Derek observed. Casey rolled her eyes. 

“I can’t really argue with that. Surprisingly, I actually liked your serious girlfriends. Mostly anyway.”

“Glad you approve of my taste in girls,” Derek chuckled. 

“Hey, do you remember that spring break we were home alone?” Casey asked suddenly.

“When we split the house down the middle with tape and broke the TV? Yeah, I remember. What about it?”

“Do you remember when we were arguing at the bottom of the stairs after you stole the last page of my book?”

“Vaguely. I remember you ignoring your own tape line.”

“Yeah well, there was a moment there, a very small moment, when we were circling each other that I thought you were going to kiss me. You leaned in fairly close and my heart started pounding. I had a total freak out back in my room,” Casey confessed.

“Hmm. I’m pretty sure the thought crossed my mind. Empty house, just the two of us, and all the tension from fighting. I’m honestly shocked this whole thing didn’t start because of a fight going too far.”

Casey smiled. “You’re right. That is surprising.”

Derek checked his watch and glanced outside. “I think we can head back out now.”

They put their sweaters and jackets back on and Derek reluctantly extracted himself from Casey and climbed back into the front seat and started the car. Casey followed and strapped herself in, pulling the quilt around her. Derek got out and started sweeping off the snow with the brush, trying to use his feet and legs to move as much snow away from the car as he could.

He got back in and pulled on his seatbelt. He put the car into drive and eased them back out onto the highway. 

“Thank God for winter tires,” he said shivering a bit. Casey cranked the heat and turned the music back on with the volume low.

“So what happens now?” she asked timidly, not sure where they stood after their conversation.

“Good question,” Derek replied. “I guess first things first, do you want to be my girlfriend?”

Casey smiled softly at him. “Yeah, I do.”

Derek looked over at her, his face full of fondness. He reached over and squeezed her hand but he knew the roads were too dangerous to have one hand off the wheel so he took it back.

“Sweet. Next question is do we tell our parents and if so, how?”

“I think we should tell them,” Casey said confidently. “I know it’s still early but this is a big deal for the family so they have a right to know. And we’re adults now, we don’t live at home so there isn’t much they can say against it.”

“That’s a good point. They can’t pull the ‘you live in the same house, it’s inappropriate” argument. Not to mention the squirts will figure it out right away. There’s not much hope of hiding this. They’ll probably give us rules while we’re at home though.”

Casey nodded. “Definitely, but it’s worth it.”

Derek smiled. He had been nervous that Casey would be ashamed of them whether because they were stepsiblings or because he was Derek. He wasn’t exactly up to her usual standards.

He decided to trust her though. He turned up the volume of the stereo and they both started singing along, not able to keep the smiles off their faces.

They arrived home about two hours later than they’d expected so everyone was waiting for them when they walked in the door.

Nora ran over and hugged them both tightly, rambling on about the roads and how they shouldn’t have made the trip in that snow but it was so good to have them home.

“We’re fine Mom,” Casey comforted. “We pulled over for a while when it got really bad. Derek was very careful.”

“Thank God,” Nora replied. She stepped back to tend to a fussing newborn Simon. George gave them quick hugs and went to help her. Derek and Casey turned their attention to their younger siblings who were all staring at them.

“What?” Casey asked, getting flustered.

“What happened?” Lizzie asked.

“What do you mean what happened?” Derek answered hurriedly. “Nothing happened.”

“No, something’s different,” Edwin observed. Subconsciously, the two older teens moved closer to each other. Marti’s eyes grew wide.

“Did you guys kiss? Are you together? Are you in love? Are you getting married?” she yelled in one breath.

George and Nora turned to them in surprise but said nothing. Everyone stared at them expectantly. Casey looked at Derek and it seemed they had an entire conversation while using no words. Finally, Casey spoke up.

“Yes, yes, yes, and maybe one day. Is that okay?”

Cheers erupted from their family. Marti ran and flung herself at her brother, squeezing him tight.

“You guys are really okay with this?” Derek asked over Marti’s head.

“Duh, we’ve only been waiting for this for almost four years. You guys are so obvious,” Edwin chimed in.

“Mom?” Casey asked cautiously. 

Nora smiled. “I’m with Edwin on this one, Case. It’s about time.”

A hand slid into Casey’s and she turned to Derek. “I guess we worried for no reason.”

“You always worry for no reason,” Derek said and kissed her forehead. The family let out a collective aww and Casey turned bright red.

“Okay, okay, moving on. I’d like to hold my baby brother if you don’t mind.”

Everyone’s attention moved to Simon with Nora telling them how he was growing and Lizzie sharing the story of his first smile and how Marti is surprisingly the best at soothing him. As they gushed over the baby, Casey looked over at Derek and grinned when she found him already looking at her. 

Later, after a very loud dinner and everyone else had gone to bed, Derek and Casey were curled up on the couch while they half-watched the Hallmark Christmas movie playing on TV. 

“So, you love me?” Derek asked almost shyly. Casey grinned.

“Caught that, did you?” she said referencing her answer to Marti’s questions. She reached up and dragged the back of her fingers up Derek’s jaw. “Yeah, I do.”

Derek exhaled deeply as if the words had lifted a giant weight off his back. “I love you, too.”

Casey smiled and buried herself deeper into his arms. What a wonderful Christmas this was turning out to be.


End file.
